| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: Wilson, m'boy, put that in a letter an' send it
hum t' yer mother, hay? 'A feller named Wil-
son,' he ses. An' th' colonel, he ses: 'Were they,
indeed? Ahem! ahem! My sakes!' he ses. 'At
th' head 'a th' reg'ment?' he ses. 'They were,'
ses th' lieutenant. 'My sakes!' ses th' colonel.
He ses: 'Well, well, well,' he ses, 'those two
babies?' 'They were,' ses th' lieutenant.
'Well, well,' ses th' colonel, 'they deserve t' be
major generals,' he ses. 'They deserve t' be
major-generals.'
The Red Badge of Courage |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Night and Day by Virginia Woolf: William had indicated to Cassandra that, in his belief, Katharine was
becoming engaged to Ralph Denham in the dining-room. Cassandra, in the
rosy light of her own circumstances, had been disposed to think that
the matter must be settled already. But a letter which she had
received that morning from William, while ardent in its expression of
affection, had conveyed to her obliquely that he would prefer the
announcement of their engagement to coincide with that of Katharine's.
This document Cassandra now produced, and read aloud, with
considerable excisions and much hesitation.
". . . a thousand pities--ahem--I fear we shall cause a great deal of
natural annoyance. If, on the other hand, what I have reason to think
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: street to street till she was dead.' 'Thou art she!' said the old
king; 'and as thou has judged thyself, so shall it be done to thee.'
And the young king was then married to his true wife, and they reigned
over the kingdom in peace and happiness all their lives; and the good
fairy came to see them, and restored the faithful Falada to life
again.
THE ADVENTURES OF CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET
1. HOW THEY WENT TO THE MOUNTAINS TO EAT NUTS
'The nuts are quite ripe now,' said Chanticleer to his wife Partlet,
'suppose we go together to the mountains, and eat as many as we can,
before the squirrel takes them all away.' 'With all my heart,' said
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: plants, and saw no God in the sky. Such a night ages a woman.
Next morning I said:
"Take Fedelta and be off to Paris! Don't sell her; I love her. Does
she not carry you?"
But he was not deceived; my tone betrayed the storm of feeling which I
strove to conceal.
"Trust me!" he replied; and the gesture with which he held out his
hand, the glance of his eye, were so full of loyalty that I was
overcome.
"What petty creatures women are!" I exclaimed.
"No, you love me, that is all," he said, pressing me to his heart.
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